Even though the House of Representatives recently passed new crypto asset rules and regulations in Japan, the crypto gambling industry in the country is still burdened with very limiting laws. Since July last year, physical casinos could operate legally within the country, but offline casinos will only be added next year after the Olympics and online casinos will only follow somewhat later on after that.

According to the CFO of international cryptocurrency, Joseph D. Hugh, the gambling industry in Japan is still adhering to stringent regulations, especially when cryptocurrency is concerned. Even though it might be a daunting task to restrict players, the government is keeping a close eye on all crypto transactions which occurs within Japan. Within the gambling industry, cryptocurrencies aren’t as common as one would expect of a country where cryptocurrency rules and guidelines were implemented already early on. This might be due to the bankruptcy in 2014 of the Japanese-based crypto exchange, Mt. Gox.

Compared to Other Countries

The international standard for countries where gambling has been legalized it so have a set of regulations in place to control the industry. In contrast, though with Japan, most of these countries don’t have rules concerned with crypto gambling. Thus far it is only Italy, Netherlands, Greece, Poland, Belgium and the United Kingdom who have incorporated crypto regulations. Still, crypto gambling is a growing sector within the British gambling industry. Many service providers accept cryptocurrencies, and there are also many sports betting websites which are focused on crypto betting. The UK Gambling Commission also gave its approval for Bitcoin, albeit they did warn users against sites which are not trustworthy and they advise that extra caution should be taken when dealing with these sites and that transactions are done on own risk.

Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrencies Still the Face of the Future

Other countries don’t consider Bitcoin as an actual payment method, and it can’t be utilized within the gambling industry. Still, the advantages of using Bitcoin can’t be ignored. Whenever a Bitcoin transaction occurs, no personal data is shared. Identification is only needed when Bitcoin is transferred back into a fiat currency. In spite of all the regulations surrounding cryptocurrencies, it is a currency in which casinos globally are showing more interest in and are more open to accepting. Even some of the long-standing Las Vegas establishments are becoming friendlier towards accepting even Bitcoin as a currency, and, likely, this might soon become the face of the future. Japan has a huge gambling market and is one of the few places in the world where the gambling industry is higher than that of Nevada. Japan has an estimated gambling industry valued at $15.8 billion which is $4 billion more than that of Nevada. Therefore regardless of the severe restrictions which are currently still valid, it might very well be that soon, Japanese legislation will have to relax slightly to accommodate the world gambling trend.